I am new to all of this~ April from Louisiana - Think Atheist2017-08-18T04:50:21Zhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topics/i-am-new-to-all-of-this-april-from-louisiana?commentId=1982180%3AComment%3A928696&xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThe meaning of life?If death…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9292342011-11-12T15:26:43.372ZAtheist Exilehttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/AtheistExile
<p>The meaning of life?<br/><br/>If death is the end of everything, then living is everything.<br/><br/>That, to me, means depth of experience. You're not going to get much depth from religious dogma. But you can from your relationships and work and curiosity. And you don't need to be religious to volunteer or contribute to charities: many atheists find great satisfaction in helping others.<br/><br/>Everybody dies. But not everybody truly lives.</p>
<p>The meaning of life?<br/><br/>If death is the end of everything, then living is everything.<br/><br/>That, to me, means depth of experience. You're not going to get much depth from religious dogma. But you can from your relationships and work and curiosity. And you don't need to be religious to volunteer or contribute to charities: many atheists find great satisfaction in helping others.<br/><br/>Everybody dies. But not everybody truly lives.</p> Hi April, welcome to the site…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9291942011-11-12T07:54:37.877ZDave Ghttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/DaveG
<p>Hi April, welcome to the site!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As far as a 'meaning' to life, there is no overarching meaning as far as we can tell. What meaning our lives have is that which we give them. Likewise, what we look forward to is what we want to achieve/see/do.</p>
<p>Hi April, welcome to the site!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As far as a 'meaning' to life, there is no overarching meaning as far as we can tell. What meaning our lives have is that which we give them. Likewise, what we look forward to is what we want to achieve/see/do.</p> I haven't read through any of…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9290022011-11-12T04:18:40.404ZCJoehttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Cara83
<p>I haven't read through any of the replies yet, so I may be repeating some things.</p>
<p>Everyone seems to want to know the meaning of life, and are discouraged if they find it doesn't have a specific purpose built in. But why?</p>
<p>My feeling is that we each assign meaning to our own lives; we can live for whatever cause we feel is most important, and make an impact on lives in the way we feel will be most beneficial to those who come after us. I feel the "Christian" purpose for life is…</p>
<p>I haven't read through any of the replies yet, so I may be repeating some things.</p>
<p>Everyone seems to want to know the meaning of life, and are discouraged if they find it doesn't have a specific purpose built in. But why?</p>
<p>My feeling is that we each assign meaning to our own lives; we can live for whatever cause we feel is most important, and make an impact on lives in the way we feel will be most beneficial to those who come after us. I feel the "Christian" purpose for life is dull and unimaginative. We all follow this narrative written before we were born, and our sole purpose in life is try to make this one guy look good... we get to look forward to an eternity of telling him just how awesome he is. Lame.</p>
<p>Without religion--without a concrete destiny--we have a choice. Is it more of a challenge? Absolutely. Is it frightening? Of course. No one can tell us the right answer; in fact, there is no right answer. It's a lot of trial and error, but it's exciting... and the possibilities for you are endless.</p>
<p>When I was a Believer, I felt limited; I felt I had to find my "calling". Everything I did would have to somehow bring glory to God, but how could my passion for art do that? Especially since my style was not even remotely religious. So many things seemed forbidden.</p>
<p>Losing my faith caused the world to open up to me. Everything was exciting and new! I was just simply astounded by the beauty of life, and just awe-struck how unlikely it all is... and how amazing it is that I have the chance to witness it. ME! Of all the combinations of sperm and egg... of all the people that could've died before me... of all the narrow escapes from death or simply non-existence... here I am! How lucky! And I have all these options? And i get to CHOOSE the meaning my life will have.</p>
<p>Don't despair that life has no meaning. It does have meaning... if you want it to. It's up to you. It's in your hands. That's incredible. Embrace the blank canvas! &lt;3</p> April and anyone else from Lo…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9287162011-11-12T02:54:20.168ZRalph Oswaldhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RalphOswald
<p>April and anyone else from Louisiana are welcome to join us here:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/NAP.Louisiana/" target="_blank">National Atheist Party of Louisiana</a>.</p>
<p>For others, not from LA, come join the fun here:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/National.Atheist.Party" target="_blank">National Atheist Party</a></p>
<p>There are also Meetup groups all around if you want to hook up with people in person. This is the one nearest you April: …</p>
<p>April and anyone else from Louisiana are welcome to join us here:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/NAP.Louisiana/">National Atheist Party of Louisiana</a>.</p>
<p>For others, not from LA, come join the fun here:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/National.Atheist.Party">National Atheist Party</a></p>
<p>There are also Meetup groups all around if you want to hook up with people in person. This is the one nearest you April: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-Atheist/">Capital Area Atheists and Agnostics</a>.</p> Welcome to the site.
Meaning…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9288192011-11-12T02:11:16.404ZRon Vhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RV
<p>Welcome to the site.</p>
<p>Meaning of life - I guess it's what you make of it. </p>
<p>For me, and I would imagine most, if not all of those here, it is much better without a religion and a god to complicate it (and make it more painful than it really needs to be).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some books I enjoyed as I was getting rid of the god virus -</p>
<p>Atheism, A Short Introduction</p>
<p>The Portable Atheist</p>
<p>Atheism (Smith)</p>
<p>God Is Not Great</p>
<p>The God Delusion</p>
<p>The New…</p>
<p>Welcome to the site.</p>
<p>Meaning of life - I guess it's what you make of it. </p>
<p>For me, and I would imagine most, if not all of those here, it is much better without a religion and a god to complicate it (and make it more painful than it really needs to be).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some books I enjoyed as I was getting rid of the god virus -</p>
<p>Atheism, A Short Introduction</p>
<p>The Portable Atheist</p>
<p>Atheism (Smith)</p>
<p>God Is Not Great</p>
<p>The God Delusion</p>
<p>The New Atheism</p>
<p>Atheist Universe</p>
<p>The Evolution of God</p>
<p>The Religion Virus</p>
<p>The Christian Delusion</p>
<p>The Rejection of Pascal's Wager (also a website)</p>
<p>God: The Failed Hypothesis</p>
<p>Why The Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church and State</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some groups/websites-</p>
<p>Freedom From Religion Foundation</p>
<p>Secular Web</p>
<p>American Humanist Association</p>
<p>Why Won't God Heal Amputees</p>
<p>Rejection of Pascal's Wager</p>
<p>Americans United for Separation of Church and State</p>
<p>ACLU</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And, some new "commandments" to "believe in" and possibly replace any you may have had forced upon you previously:</p>
<p>1. Enjoy life</p>
<p>2. Strive to do no harm</p>
<p>3. Try to make things better</p>
<p> </p> I agree with Nate - the "self…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9286042011-11-12T00:28:27.895ZSimon Payntonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/SimonPaynton
<p>I agree with Nate - the "selfish gene" theories of Richard Dawkins, and other science, have informed my view of what it means to be alive and of the meaning of life. I.e. there is no innate meaning of life apart from to reproduce, because that's the defining chemical property of genetic molecules. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>For me, the meaning of life is to be as healthy and full of life as I can be, and just enjoy trying to achieve that. And not to waste my life if I can help it - to spend it doing…</p>
<p>I agree with Nate - the "selfish gene" theories of Richard Dawkins, and other science, have informed my view of what it means to be alive and of the meaning of life. I.e. there is no innate meaning of life apart from to reproduce, because that's the defining chemical property of genetic molecules. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>For me, the meaning of life is to be as healthy and full of life as I can be, and just enjoy trying to achieve that. And not to waste my life if I can help it - to spend it doing worthwhile things, which includes doing things I enjoy, and trying to make the world a better place in whatever way I can. Just as importantly, it's to take care of my "sweet heart" and my niece for as long as I live. </p> Hello April. I live in MS an…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-12:1982180:Comment:9287012011-11-12T00:19:34.413ZCognizant Psychehttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Nate360
<p>Hello April. I live in MS and trust me I know how hard it is to be anything other than Xian down here. Of course the meaning of life will be different for everyone, but understanding where we come from and how life evolves and flourishes kind of removes the mystery as to giving a reason or a purpose. We are alive because our species just so happened to evolve and survive to be at the top. But that being said, isnt it fantastic? The fact that you were born into a species of life that is…</p>
<p>Hello April. I live in MS and trust me I know how hard it is to be anything other than Xian down here. Of course the meaning of life will be different for everyone, but understanding where we come from and how life evolves and flourishes kind of removes the mystery as to giving a reason or a purpose. We are alive because our species just so happened to evolve and survive to be at the top. But that being said, isnt it fantastic? The fact that you were born into a species of life that is self-aware? Understanding how scarce life is in the universe (at least to our knowledge thus far) really makes me appreciate life all the more. As a xian I almost lived for death. Everything was try to score Browne points essentially for when I reached the pearly gates. But now that I have rejected those beliefs, I live for the moment, knowing that life is fragile and we are never guaranteed the next minute. It is scary, but amazing at the same time. Welcome to TA. And we here will be happy to answer any questions you have. ^_^</p> LotusGreek!
It had not hit m…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-11:1982180:Comment:9288062011-11-11T23:59:08.197ZRalph Oswaldhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RalphOswald
<p>LotusGreek! </p>
<p>It had not hit me before that because the religious do not see this as the only life, they do not cherish life (any life), the way we (who do not have the imaginary safety net) do. Thank you, Sir! </p>
<p>Epiphany!</p>
<p>LotusGreek! </p>
<p>It had not hit me before that because the religious do not see this as the only life, they do not cherish life (any life), the way we (who do not have the imaginary safety net) do. Thank you, Sir! </p>
<p>Epiphany!</p> Assuming it works, I have abs…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-11:1982180:Comment:9286002011-11-11T23:41:42.723ZSimon Payntonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/SimonPaynton
<p>Assuming it works, I have absolutely no idea how. I don't presume that the only things that can exist are those we can explain. That would be a foolishly human-centred point of view. I assume that you don't need God for an afterlife to exist because you don't need Him for the living world to exist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I see it as a strong possibility (but not a certainty). Therefore, I have to prepare for it. </p>
<p>Assuming it works, I have absolutely no idea how. I don't presume that the only things that can exist are those we can explain. That would be a foolishly human-centred point of view. I assume that you don't need God for an afterlife to exist because you don't need Him for the living world to exist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I see it as a strong possibility (but not a certainty). Therefore, I have to prepare for it. </p> Ok, so how does that work?tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-11-11:1982180:Comment:9285982011-11-11T23:31:50.841ZKenny Howsehttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/KennyHowse
Ok, so how does that work?
Ok, so how does that work?